Shutout Win Advances Cougars to MWC Finals

SAN DIEGO -- With a 2-0 shutout victory over the San Diego State Aztecs, the No. 18 BYU women's soccer team advanced to the Mountain West Conference tournament championship to be played Saturday, Nov. 6, at noon PT.

"It was a fantastic effort today from the team," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "I'm proud of the girls and how they stuck through for the win."

Starting things off early for the Cougars, forward Carlee Payne turned on the speed and took the ball past the Aztec defense to go one-on-one with goalkeeper Aubree Southwick who came out to meet Payne but she had already shot the ball for the back of the net to put BYU up 1-0 in the first half.

The Cougars are now 11-0 this season when they score first against their opponent.

"One of the things we wanted to do today was maintain pressure and take the shots when we could," Rockwood said. "San Diego has a great attack but I'm really proud of our back line and midfield for never giving anything up."

The game continued at a fairly even pace throughout the first 45 minutes with BYU taking five shots to San Diego State's three.

Coming back strong in the second half and after just three minutes of action, the Cougars got another great look at the goal with a free kick just outside the box on the right. Midfielder Lauren Anderson took the shot, placing the ball right in the box to Rachel Manning for a header shot that went just wide.

Securing the BYU victory and advancement to the conference finals, Anderson took a corner in the 76th minute and got the ball right around the near post for the game winner.

The win tabs as the eighth season shutout victory for BYU goalkeeper McKinzie Olson who also recorded four saves in the game.

BYU finished with 12 shots to the Aztec's eight. Kassidy Shumway and Jessica Ringwood both tallied a team-high three shots for the Cougars with Sara Halverson recording two for San Diego State.

The Cougars will now advance to play in the 2010 MWC tournament finals against the first-seeded New Mexico Lobos. The game is slated for noon PT on Saturday in San Diego.

"We're excited for Saturday," Rockwood said. "It doesn't matter who we're playing but we're certainly anxious to be able to compete for a conference championship."

Saturday's game will be streamed live online at themtn.tv and will air via same-day tape delay on The Mtn. TV network at 11 p.m. PT, and on Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. PT.

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